Marcus: We stopped. While holding tightly to our leashes with one hand, Jan raised the other arm high above her head -
Buddy: And the bird popped up and spun around with its back to us.
Merci: Jan has a problem finding a target with one arm in the air. (Remember when she aimed for the sky between two trees and took a picture of the house instead? An Aiming Problem.)
Marcus: When she downloaded the pictures, the bird was missing in the first few; however, she did manage to shoot the target in two ... sort of.
Buddy: As you can see, here is most of a bird from the rear. We're pretty sure it had a head when it landed, but Jan decapitated it.
Merci: With precision timing, it flapped its wings just as Jan took the second shot.
Buddy: We're curious as to what type of bird it is and are hoping someone might recognize the markings. It's a long shot, but worth asking.
Marcus: Whatever it is, the next time we see it, I'm going to invite him for lunch.
UPDATE: We are posting close-ups of the bird. Sorry for the poor photos, but if Jan can miss the sky to hit a house, she can certainly decapitate a bird. We would suggest you not let her take your picture - just in case!
We are joining the Pet Parade hosted by Rascal and Rocco, Basil the Bionic Cat, and Barking from the Bayou.
I think Jan did very well to capture that bird - they are notoriously tricky to photograph. Not sure where you live so I have no idea what kind of bird it is. It looks a bit like a buzzard. We get loads hovering here in Devon (UK) where I live. They are beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThat's Purrfect
Hari OM
ReplyDeleteWell farmer pups, that was quite the sighting and I think Jan did sterling work in difficult circumstances! With this, admittedly limited, photographic evidence I am thinking you have there a Broad-winged Hawk... nice... hugs and wags, YAM-aunty xxx
That second photo is pretty good!
ReplyDeleteMOL! I think the photos are just fine. Decapitation and all.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like some sort of raptor or maybe an owl.
ReplyDeleteI don't know what kind it is- sorry.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely a hawk of some sort,so I will defer to Yamini's diagnosis !
ReplyDeleteDang, that's something! But I thought Big Bird was on Sesame Street!
ReplyDeleteNot easy to get good shots of birds. Our human consider this pretty good. Purrs!
ReplyDeleteWell, that birdie did what he did because he is WISE. That's an owl for sure....
ReplyDeleteNOT a good idea to have him for lunch. Will write about that in a blog.
Lets look in the petcretary's bird book...OK, no obvious stripes on its tail...that rules out a few species. Maybe a Prairie Falcon (*not* a peregrine for sure...), or like Aunty Y said maybe a broadwinged hawk, though we don't see stripes on its tail. For sure we think its some kind of hawk. Hunting. Watch out for your kitties...or small dogs. These birds mostly eat small rodents. We don't think its a red tailed hawk, though those are quite common. Hey, not bad for trying to catch a bird in the lens on the fly so to speak, subjects afar are hard to get at the best of times, you did well! They are in focus!
ReplyDeleteThat is a ginormous hawk. We have a bunch of hawks around here and I love to watch them soar.
ReplyDelete